NEW jobs and new homes are being created in the South West of England as the Edenstone Group expands its operation with the opening of its first office outside of Wales.
Headquartered in Magor, the ambitious business, established in 2003, is targeting turnover of more than £100 million by 2023 and aims to increase the number of homes it builds by 66% in the current financial year.
The new office, overlooking Portishead Marina, will be key to the company’s growth plans. It was officially opened by Dr Liam Fox, MP for North Somerset.
Dr Fox said: “North Somerset is a fantastic place to live and work and that is evidenced by the fact that companies like the Edenstone Group are setting up offices here. The housing industry has an important role to play in the economy as addressing the need for quality homes creates employment opportunities not just in construction, but in the supply chain, and also provides investment in communities.”
Edenstone Group chairman Martin Taylor said: “The opening of the Portishead office is a major milestone for the Group as it’s our first base outside of Wales. Our significant and rapid growth both in scale and operation is testament to the hard work and dedication of our talented teams and we’re looking forward to creating further employment opportunities with the opening of the new office.
“We’re already building in Gloucestershire and Herefordshire. Portishead is a natural choice given its accessibility to our forthcoming sites across the region. It will be key in helping us meet our growth aspirations in the South West of England as we expand into Somerset, Devon, Wiltshire and Bristol.”
Unaudited financial results indicate that the Edenstone Group – which includes Edenstone Homes, Bluebell Homes, Ashgrove Partnerships and Edenstone Land –achieved a turnover of £57 million to the year ended April 2021. During the financial year the company completed 201 homes.
There is a 70/30 split between private sale properties and affordable housing provided by the Group.
Between Edenstone Homes and Bluebell Homes, the company offers everything from two-bedroom first time buyer homes to luxurious five-bedroom properties priced in excess of £1 million.
The Ashgrove Partnerships arm of the business works with housing providers to help address the housing shortage.
The group has 10 lives sites across South Wales and the South West of England.
“The target for the current financial year is to complete 335 homes – that’s a 66% increase on last year. This increase in completions will lead to us recruiting 20 new members of staff and will create and support many more jobs within our supply chains,” Martin added.
“To help achieve this growth, we have secured five sites, which will deliver 40 to 150 homes each. Current projections are that we will achieve turnover of £83 million in the current financial year and will exceed £100 million the year after. Our aim is that by 2025 we will be building 800 homes a year.”
The Edenstone Group has taken a five-year lease on the 2,000 sq ft Portishead office. The company anticipates that 15 employees, mainly new recruits, will be based there by 2023.
The Edenstone Group aims to be a net zero carbon business by 2025 and has formed a joint venture with Sero to pave the way for the delivery of 6,000 zero carbon homes across Wales and the South West of England by 2030.
